Margarita variations: Beer Margarita recipe

It’s spring, and as the weather warms, thoughts turn to lazy afternoons on the patio and relaxing evenings on the deck, preferably with a light and refreshing drink in hand. It’s the time of year where the most difficult decision we want to face is whether it would be better to have a nice cold beer or a good chilled cocktail.

Of course, TheBeerLady is getting ready to tell you that it’s possible to have both, even if you’d prefer not to hold a glass in each hand. True, there’s no shortage of tequila fans that would scream that the Beer Margarita is an abomination that can’t rightly even be called a Margarita. That’s probably only fair, since there’s also no shortage of beer geeks that would be just as vocal in their insistence that using their beloved brew in a cocktail is a horror beyond imagining.

Ignore them. True enough, I agree that the name “Beer Margarita” is a misnomer (no, I won’t start ranting again about calling drinks a Something-Tini), but the drink didn’t name itself. It’s quick and easy to make by the pitcher, so you won’t spend your entire afternoon slicing and dicing and muddling and twisting your way through making cocktails, even for a crowd. It’s also easy to adjust the amount of tequila up or down to suit your own taste.

Almost any brand or variety of beer will work, but generally speaking, the Beer Margarita works much better with a nice pale ale or lager. Leave your bold craft beers or dark beers in the refrigerator for sipping another day.